Public trust in the face of pandemics and learning from past experience

A special section of the journal European Psychologist looked at rebuilding public trust in preparation for the next pandemic in light of the outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) 2002–2003, H5N1 (avian influenza) 2005–2006, and the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic in 2009. Did we succeed?

Articles: 

• Investigating and Rebuilding Public Trust in Preparation for the Next Pandemic

• Uncertain News

• The Psychology of AIDS Denialism

• The Role of Public Trust During Pandemics

The European Psychologist is a multidisciplinary journal that serves as the voice of psychology in Europe, seeking to integrate across all specializations in psychology and to provide a general platform for communication and cooperation among psychologists throughout Europe and worldwide.

Integrative articles and reviews constitute the core material published in the journal. These state-of-the-art papers cover research trends and developments within psychology, with possible reference to European perceptions or fields of specialization. Empirical articles will be considered only in rare circumstances when they present findings from major multinational, multidisciplinary or longitudinal studies, or present results with markedly wide relevance.

How we communicate health information

A special issue of Journal of Media Psychology was devoted to exploring trends in health communication: How can we make sure that health information is communicated well and people can take the appropriate action for their health?

Aside from the Editorial, we thought two articles examining the role of social media in conveying health messages would be of particular interest during the corona virus crisis.

Articles:

• Trends in Health Communication

• Exemplification 2.0

• Context and Identification in Persuasive Mass Communication

Journal of Media Psychology (JMP) is committed to publishing original, high-quality papers which cover the broad range of media psychological research. This peer-reviewed journal focuses on how human beings select, use, and experience various media as well as how media (use) can affect their cognitions, emotions, and behaviors. Submissions must substantially advance the current state-of the art on a theoretical and/or an empirical level. To name just a few typical fields and domains of inquiry, the Journal of Media Psychology considers manuscripts dealing with research on entertainment, computer-mediated communication (including social media), human-computer interaction, e-learning, computer and video games, virtual environments, or advertising.

The risk of suicide in older adults during epidemics/pandemics

This article in our journal Crisis found an increase in suicide among adults aged 65 plus during the 2003 SARS epidemic in Hong Kong. The qualitative exploration of suicide motives gives food for thought on how we can ensure the well-being of older adults during this pandemic.

• The Impact of Epidemic Outbreak

Crisis – The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention is an international periodical that publishes original articles on suicidology and crisis intervention. Papers presenting basic research as well as practical experience in the field are welcome. 

Crisis also publishes potentially life-saving information for all those involved in crisis intervention and suicide prevention, making it important reading for clinicians, counselors, hotlines, and crisis intervention centers.

Not all adverse events are negative

As many people are discovering, living in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic involves some obvious hardships, but it is not all negative. Rather, many of us are also discovering that there are some surprising positive outcomes arising from the experience.

This article from the European Journal of Health Psychology systemically reviews the research on adversity and its potential for increasing resilience and thriving, and gives useful insights into the practical implications.

• A Salutogenic Perspective on Adverse Experiences

The European Journal of Health Psychology was founded to provide a platform for the increasing amount of research in the field of health psychology and for its application in a wide range of contexts. Health psychology is a scientific discipline within psychology that aims to promote and preserve health, to prevent and treat diseases, to determine risk behavior, to diagnose and determine the causes of health disorders, and to improve health provision.

The European Journal of Health Psychology strives to promote theory and practice in the analysis of psychological approaches to health and disease. The aim is therefore to publish high quality empirical or experimental research as well as sound practice-oriented articles, current methodological developments, and comprehensive critical reviews of the scientific literature.